rain water

[MoNoXiDe]

Is rain water good to collect to water with? or waste of time? It rains so much here I am thinking about getting a rain collect barrel.

 

[budz4me]

My regular garden loves the stuff....my first go around with MJ though did not like it. Then I found mosquito larvae in the barrel and have never used it on my MJ since.....I still use it in the garden though...and it works great and saves me alot of money (My regular garden requires ALOT of water)

 

[MoNoXiDe]

i've just been ph'ing tap water every time I water.

 

[4u2sm0ke]

I use rain water all the time with no bad effects...I suppose it would matter where you live ???....I use 6 55 gallon drums hooked to down spout. I grow organic and dont need PH water..just more lime

:48:

 

[budz4me]

4U2, there is probably alot of truth in that where you live matters....Im not a scientist or educated in the matter, but would make sense.

I use tap water that sits for 2-3 days and gets to temps and allows some chlorine to evaporate.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

It DOES make a lot of difference where the water is collected from. If you live in an area with air pollution, you can depend that some of this ends up in the rain water. Also if you collect water running off your roof, it can pick up debris and chemicals from your roof.

 

[pcduck]

Yes rain water is excellent, although I would not use if I lived down wind from a coal burning electric producer or something similar. Unless you have a brand new shingled roof the chemical will have already be washed offed to such a level to be negligible. Mosquito larvae in water means the water is stagnate(low levels or zero DO) add air and good to go. The only thing I have noticed about using rain water is I must use cal/mag in the water.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Duck, what I meant is that pollution (things in the air) will settle on your roof and the rain will wash it off into your rain water. I wouldn't be worried about asbestos shingles or metal roofs....it is the stuff that falls on them and then gets washed off into the rain barrel.

 

[brimck325]

i collected from an asphalt shingle roof that had to be 10 years old and their was always an oil sheen on top, wasn't much (that i could see), but it bothered me for sure.

 

[MoNoXiDe]

well, I'm not talking about collecting it from the roof. I'm talking about collecting it as it falls. Also, not as a main water source, just a extra bonus 'if rain has something in it that the plants love' If there is nothing special about rain water, then I won't waste my time collecting it. thanks for all the replies

 

[Hushpuppy]

I would have both water sources tested to see what's in them before deciding which is better to use. Your rain water might be pristine and your tap water could have a lot of chemical in it, or vice-versa.

 

[pcduck]

Oh ok THG.

I can understand that pollution settling down, but even then unless you live next to a smelter or similar this pollution would be negligible. The amount of rainwater that comes off a roof is quite a bit more then what people realize. There is a mathematical formula to find the amount, by knowing the sqft and the amount of rainfall.

If still concerned just do not use the water in the very bottom of the rain barrel. You should be able to see this pollution build up in the bottom of the barrel.

But there again:doh: if your outside pollution is so bad that you are unable to grow anything outdoors, I would not use the rain water either.

 

[WeedHopper]

Never had a problem using rain water on any plants and I live in the Big D area,and they(My flowers and Garden Veggies) love rain water. Hell,,how am I supposed to stop tha rain from getting on my outside Garden just cause it might have a little smog in it from the city? The Flower boxes around my house get rain from the roof all the time and they are Bieutiful.Im with Duck,,except I will go one step futher and say if ya live that close to Poison coming from Big Industry,,,Dont Drink or Bathe in it eather.

 

[4u2sm0ke]

if you live next to those pollution things....

Move

move to a clean state...lol..


Monoxide......place a few 5 gallon buckets in the yard when it rains:aok:

 

[budz4me]

Oh ok THG.

I can understand that pollution settling down, but even then unless you live next to a smelter or similar this pollution would be negligible. The amount of rainwater that comes off a roof is quite a bit more then what people realize. There is a mathematical formula to find the amount, by knowing the sqft and the amount of rainfall.

If still concerned just do not use the water in the very bottom of the rain barrel. You should be able to see this pollution build up in the bottom of the barrel.

But there again:doh: if your outside pollution is so bad that you are unable to grow anything outdoors, I would not use the rain water either.

Dont mean to de-rail, but this is sad and very true.....a friend of mines' local gov't is using this formula to tax people for the homeowners rain water that they have to clean and process....sad really.

EDIT: I dont believe its a law yet...but I remember her telling me and how blown away I was by the idea..wow...lol.

 

[YYZ Skinhead]

If you are within an approximate 20-mile radius of Hell Lay and the OC, the rainwater here is nasty (except when it has been raining longer than usual).